I weigh in on Saturday morning, nude after using the potty. Does that number on the scale reflect the day before food choices?? The week before food choices?? The night before??? I am curious to know exactly what that number represents!

All opinions and input welcomed.

gail (aka) bunny

__________________Being good isn't always easy,
No matter how hard I tried

The thing is ... our bodies aren't machines. You can't say a + b = c when it comes to biology. Unfortunately. There are some thigns that you'll eat that will show up practically within hours. And there are some things that you'll eat that will take 2 or 3 days to process. And those things may be different for you than for me.

For example, I eat something salty and w/in 2 or 3 hours I can tell I'm retaining water. My husband? He could pour the salt shaker into his mouth and swallow and wouldn't notice a change - ever.

And what makes you fat, might not make me fat and vice versa. I know that if I eat carbs in the evenings, it slows my weight loss. Even if I've eaten really well and on plan all week, an evening of carbs will derail me. OTOH, I know people in real life and on this site who can eat carbs at night and not be affected, but if they overdo the fat, they're toast for the week.

It kinda sucks that there's no tried and true formula to say "this is how it works" ... but that's life, huh?

I think there are far, far too many variables to make a direct comparison between what and when you ate and the number on the scale. I mean if you drink a 16 ounce glass of water, the scale will say you gained a pound, but in 20 minutes you'll probably pee it out. But beyond that, there is no one-to-one relationship. Digestion isn't an exact science (even in forensics they can't do what they do on tv and tell when a person died by what's still in the stomach. Exercise, stress and other variables affect the rate of digestion, so at best there's an average or a range.) Also water content of the food, sodium, fiber... they all can affect things.

For me, I always seem to be a week behind. If I am really good, and exercise, and don't cheat...I won't see that reflected until the following week. It's a bit frustrating but as long as I know what to expect I don't get let down.

Seriously, it'll vary based on SO many things that one scale reading can't be said to mean ANYTHING. A trend of readings, over a significant period of time, can represent change in your weight, but other than that, weight is just a snapshot.

I don't know the answer either, but I do know that the scales will reflect what I've eaten over the past few months or years. If I've eaten on plan I'll (hopefully) be thinner. If I've eaten rotten and binged then I'll (probably) be fatter.

how did you actually determine that eating carbs in the evening is detrimental to your weight loss? I am sure you are right but I am interested in the how-to process.

I'm not Photochick, obviously, but I have the same problem. For me, I weigh every day so if I eat carbs at night I can watch the scale creep up several ounces a day until I start cutting out the carbs again. And yet, it took me a *year* to figure out why I wasn't losing any weight. Talk about frustrating! I'm just glad I did figure it out eventually, with the help of my sister, who has the same problem. I guess the truth is that I just didn't want to believe her, because that meant adjusting to a low-carb lifestyle and giving up vegetarianism.